Helena Fairfax

Another month, and another authors’ Round Robin. This month the topic has been set by author Skye Taylor…

How do you get your readers to believe in your fictional world?

Creating a new world can be one of the most exciting elements of writing a story – but how do you get readers to immerse themselves in this setting that’s come out of your imagination? Whether you’re building a fantasy realm, a futuristic society or an alternate history, here are some tips on building a convincing world.

Ask yourself ‘what story do I want to tell?’

For many readers, a book about a fictional world isn’t interesting in itself. In order for it to make a compelling story, the world has to be peopled with characters who are going through some period of tension or conflict, and we have to feel their emotions with them as the story progresses.

So the first thing is to decide what your story is going to be about – and why does the story need this particular world to make it work?

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, is about an ordinary hobbit thrust into extraordinary circumstances. The conflict in the story comes from his quest to destroy a magic ring and prevent it getting into evil hands. His world is a magical one, populated with mythical creatures. Tolkien imagined it in such detail, he even drew up maps to go with the stories.

In Station Eleven, by Emily St John Mandel, is set in a world after a terrible pandemic. The story is about a nomadic group of actors who are trying to keep theatre and art alive in this dystopian future. The conflict comes about when they meet a violent so-called ‘prophet’, who wants to destroy everything they stand for.

These two novels have completely different settings, but in both the world the authors have built is there to enhance their plot and characters.

In order to keep the focus on the story rather than the exciting world you’ve created, it can help as you write to make sure you’re looking at the world from your characters’ eyes. How much do your characters need to know about the history and logistics of this fictional world? If they’re hungry and need to eat, then readers will need to know why food is scarce. If the character needs to get to a specific location, then readers will need to know why dragons are in the way.

To sum up: let the world serve the characters, rather than telling readers about the world.

For another example, I recently read Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. In this novel, the earth has been destroyed. A few survivors are looking for a suitable planet to live on…but the only one they can find is inhabited by giant spiders who’ve evolved with a phenomenal intelligence. For me personally there was a lot of description of their world and how they’d evolved to dominate it. This novel has excellent reviews and won the Arthur C. Clarke sci-fi award. The world of the spiders is brilliantly described. My personal preference is for a story with more emotion and which is more character-driven than world- or plot-driven. (Maybe for the same reason I’ve also never got past Book 2 of Lord of the Rings, despite trying more than once –yet my brothers loved it so much they could quote passages off by heart.)

So, my personal suggestion is to focus on the characters and story, rather than the actual world, but whatever world you create, it needs to be consistent and have some depth to it in order to be credible.

It may help to…

Keep a document containing all your world’s details

Tolkien once said he started with a map first, and his plot arose from the map. You may find your own world doesn’t need a map in such detail, but, for your benefit rather than the readers, documenting your world can help to keep track of characteristics that are specific to your setting. What is its history? How do people communicate when apart? What do they eat? Who is in charge? Is there a religion? Or any other cultural practices? Are there different languages/dialects?

You don’t need to fill readers in on all these details, but keeping a track can help you stay consistent. This is especially important if you’re writing a series. Besides this, just like Tolkien with his map, and while filling in the details of your world you can often by struck with new ideas.

Another way to help your world seem credible is to…

Build a world around one we already know

Human societies across the globe and throughout time have acted together in a similar way –  and human beings love stories about other human beings. Whether your book is set in a dystopian future, or an invented past, or a magical land, creating a world that reflects the one we know will not only help your setting seem logical and believable, it will also be interesting to readers who love to see human relationships reflected back to them.

Having said that:

Sometimes it helps to challenge your own assumptions

Our own cultures can limit our imaginations. Try to think of something that’s the opposite of how we live now.

Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses is an alternative history, where light-skinned people were once slaves, and dark-skinned people still control them.

Solaris, by the brilliant Stanislaw Lem, is a novel I love. It shows a world with an alien being that humans try to understand, but simply can’t fathom. Lem deliberately made this alien being an ocean, rather than any sort of creature we might remotely recognise.

By challenging assumptions, these authors have created thought-provoking novels that make us think much more deeply about our own lives.

Whatever world you create, remember that world-building serves your story, not the other way around. Even the most brilliantly constructed world means little without compelling characters and meaningful conflicts.

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I’m looking forward to reading the other authors’ take on this topic. Please click on the links below for my fellow authors in the Round Robin.

If you have any recommendations for novels you’ve enjoyed with great examples of world-building, please let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear them!

Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-3rJ 

Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/

Belinda Edwards https://booksbybelinda.com/blog/

Anne Stenhouse https://goo.gl/h4DtKv

Sally Odgers https://behindsallysbooksmark2.blogspot.com

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

A.J. Dyer http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea